Automated blood pressure machines provide an easy and convenient means for medical professionals to monitor the blood pressure of their patients. The ease of use of these machines also makes them common in the home, where people can monitor their own blood pressure free of the stress of a medical setting.
One of the key elements of an automated blood pressure machine is the blood pressure cuff. The cuff must be secure around the patient's arm and provide minimal slippage during cuff inflation. Blood pressure cuffs commonly include a material such as Velcro to enable ease of fastening and removal of the cuff and to provide secure fastening of the cuff.
Blood pressure cuffs, particularly those used for automated blood pressure machines in physicians' offices, are typically used for a large number of cycles and for many years. Velcro tends to wear out and, when it does wear out, the cuff tends to slip during inflation, sometimes causing inaccurate blood pressure readings or causing errors that prevent the blood pressure machine from determining a patient's blood pressure. However, it is not always clear to the physician or patient that inaccurate or incomplete blood pressure readings are caused by cuff slippage.